Words Cut Deep
by MonkeySaru
Summary: "Susan had no words." Edmund and Susan, LWW to LB. K . R&R.
1. I

Red, sultry firelight coated the room like velvet. Hushed whispers, the sense of helpless urgency weighing on shoulders as aides rushed to and from the room with heavy footsteps. Shadows danced on the walls and ceiling as the orange flames licked the air, casting ghoulish shade in the expressions upon their faces. Some called for water, some for clean rags. There was a soft, tortured moan amongst the murmuring.

"Your Majesty," a Naiad spoke, tears sparkling in the crimson darkness, "He is very ill." I nodded, brow creasing, worry already set in my face. I stood outside his chambers, waiting, for what I do not know. Waiting for a sign. Waiting for a miracle. Sweat trickled down my face as I waited; the heat blasting from the room was like Calormen in high Summertime. I paced.

"Will he be alright?" I dared, ignoring the way my voice rasped with emotion. The Naiad's face fell, her watery skin refracting the light of the fire as she carefully chose her words. I watched the tremulous waves within her for a moment, steeling myself. Her eyes met mine.

"He is very sick," she spoke softly, and there was nothing more to be said.

Another scream. I stepped forward; Caasca, for that was her name, held her hands to mine, a cooling sensation. "We do not know if this is contagious," she said quietly, referencing the fact that we were not allowed near him. I shook my head, giving her a small, forced smile. "I have to see him."

There was no arguing with Monarchs.

I stepped into his chambers, feeling the dry heat immediately pressing upon me. The windows were all shut up, and the fire roared in the hearth with no signs of stopping. Trying to sweat the fever away. Starve it.

It just kept getting worse.

I made my way to his bedside, unable to see him for all the healers pressed close to him. I waited, a little impatiently, for them to leave. I needed to be with him.

Eventually, the last of the healers adjourned from the bedside, placing the bowl of lukewarm water in my hands. "Make sure he rests," the Faun said, weariness overtaking him. I placed the bowl on the bedside, and with shaking hands, kneeled down beside him, pressing my hand to his face.

"Su," he moaned, blearily creaking open one eye, too weak to do much else. I gave him a shaky smile, brushing the raven hair from his eyes. "I'm here, Ed. Sleep now," I muttered, gently swabbing his face with a cool rag. He was delirious with fever, stuck between two realities as he tossed in his sheets, unaware of the tears slipping down his cheeks. I, also, was unaware of my own. I could not bear to see him like this.

I shakily took his hand as he cried out against the demons in his mind, and I wept.

Whispering empty words of comfort as he was plagued by fever and Hell itself, I stayed with him through the night.


	2. II

A/N: Hey, everyone!

So you'll find that this is mostly a drabble sort of fic that follows Edmund and Susan's relationship from LWW to LB in different pieces and places. They're a bit short, but I find that I am enjoying that kind of feel as I'm writing these, and I hope you will as well. I have always really liked the idea of writing something that features them prominently in their sibling relationship, but it's also a challenge to do that characterization justice. I'll be doing my best through the next few chapters and we'll see where that takes us I suppose.  
I would appreciate any and all feedback! I love hearing what you think.  
As always, I don't own these characters, etc, etc.

 **Also, this chapter is pretty angsty, building off of the previous chapter.** Just a warning, you know how I love that. Just a heads up.

* * *

 _Everything was on fire._

 _The blackness in front of him was relentless, unforgiving. Impermeable. He felt the brokenness of his bones, the fire of his soul extinguished. Flames licked his toes, scorching him. Smoke invaded his lungs, his mind. He couldn't stop coughing._

 _He faintly heard the voice of his mother, from far away. Lights flashed in front of him, dizzy, hands grabbing and pulling at him. They grasped at his face, his arms, grappling in the dark. So many voices. He struggled in their icy grip, crying out._

" _Edmund," very close._

 _Despite the fire all around him, his blood was ice. He shivered violently, struggling to breathe despite the smoke. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he stilled, heart pounding in his chest._

" _Edmund, how I've missed you."_

 _He felt icy fingers on his face. He threw himself to the side, crying out in fear. Shaking, powerless. He was dragged back, too weak to resist their hands. Voices calling all around him._ "Bring him wine, quickly." "King Edmund, please, drink this," "Shhh, you're safe, you're safe," "Someone call the Healer" "King Edmund…"

 _She was there, standing above him. Fire and ice fused together around him as an impossible force, and he shook violently, tears streaming down his face. "Please, no," he begged, so very, very small._ _He hated this part._

"Quickly, wrap him in the sheets, he must be still…"

 _She froze him. Somehow, some way, she did it. He was immobile, fully aware, eyes tightly shut. He wouldn't let her into his mind. She's dead. She's dead. She's…_

" _Edmund," frosted upon his ear. He gagged, choking back vomit. She was real. She was here. "I will never leave you."_

 _His very skin burned at the promise, the pain of his scars working to overcome him once more as he tried to fight down the memories. Too weak, too small. She laughed, not unlike the tinkling of icicles hitting the ground. Taking his arm, she forced him against the wall of ice, shackled against it. Chained to the glacier, frost cutting him he thrashed about; his skin burning hotter and hotter as green, sickly dungeon light suffocated him._

" _Aslan!" he screamed, rending his throat raw. Jadis merely smiled, sharpening her blade. This was too real, too real, too…_

"I'm here, Ed…"

 _Susan?_

 _He screamed. A long, drawn out, tortured yell of anguish as She took her blade, carving into his skin. Too real…_

" _You won't soon forget this, will you, little king?" She purred, driving the white-hot blade deeper with every passing second. His blood stained the ice. So much screaming…_

"Queen Susan, it is his scars."

 _He cried, long, ragged breaths as his skin burned beneath her knife._

 _Cool rags were pressed to his face, and he opened his eyes for the smallest of moments. She was there, but it was soft blue eyes that met his gaze, not black eyes that pierced his tortured soul._

"Oh, Ed."

 _Fire consumed him._


End file.
